I laugh. “How could I forget?”
The memory of us flying down back roads in high school with Penny screaming in the passenger seat hits out of nowhere. I haven’t thought about that in ages. The true miracle isn’t that Danny’s alive, it’s that all three of us are.
He tilts his head, studying me. “Hey, man…you think she’d come with you next time? To visit me? It’s almost Christmas. Maybe she’s feeling generous.”
Danny doesn’t know Penny anymore, not that I really do either. But nothing about what I do know or saw today makes me believe I’d be able to get her here to see her brother. If I did succeed, she’d probably be the next Hanson sibling to land themselves behind bars.
“I’ll try, but no promises man.” I crack my knuckles. “She’s stubborn, you know that. And I’m not sure how long she’s sticking around.”
Danny shrugs, masking disappointment, and I feel for him. “Nah, I figured. Just wishful thinking. I haven’t heard from her in a decade…what would change now?”
A jolt of stubbornness hits me, because why did I come here, why did I move back if I wasn’t here to fix things? I don’t really owe Danny anything, but I’m trying to make things right.
Maybe this is my good karma deed to get the ball rolling.
“I’ll see what I can do, okay? Penny used to like me, maybe it can happen again,” I joke, but Danny takes it to heart.
“I appreciate it!” He slams a palm on the table and points to me. “I believe in you. Do your magic.”
I don’t mention the way she looked at me today—like I was something broken she never wanted to touch again.
Instead, I nod as the guards give us the signal.
As I walk out, I turn back to see Danny shuffle toward the locked doors. He raises a hand before disappearing through them.
I don’t know what it will take to get through to Penny, but I do know I’ve got my work cut out for me.
What Danny doesn’t know is that today might’ve been the first time I laid eyes on Penny in ten years, but not a day has gone by that I haven’t shut my eyes and seen hers.
Or thought about that final kiss I planted on her sleeping face, knowing I was about to break her heart.
This wasn’t going to be easy.
Everything is quiet and dark by the time I get back to the house.
I ate dinner at a roadside diner, alone, and ended up driving around Wilmington aimlessly for a while. Driving eases me. When I first moved to California, I would drive Highway 1 up and down the coast for hours when I couldn’t sleep. And tonight, I knew I wouldn’t be able to sleep, but I didn’t want to be the reason Fia and Penny didn’t.
The glow from the living room catches my eye, and I peer in on my way to the staircase. Fia’s fast asleep on the sofa, the TV still flickering, Tank squished beside her like he’s always been her dog. A thick fleece blanket is draped over both of them.
Tank’s block head is wedged between the back of the tan sofa and Fia’s growing bump. He cracks his eyes to look at me, lets out a small sigh as he nestles in closer to her, and shuts his eyes again.
Traitor.
Three years ago, I rescued him from the LA shelter I was working at. It took ten minutes of playing with the dirty four-month-old puppy to decide I needed him as much as he needed me. He’s been my ride or die ever since. Well, up until I moved here; now he’s attached to Fia’s side. But I’m not mad about it. Dogs know when someone needs them.
I head upstairs and hear faint sounds—sudden music, an electronic-sounding voice,another sudden song, like someone is scrolling a social media app. The moment my boots hit the upstairs hallway floor, it creaks, and the bedroom across from mine falls silent.
I guess Penny returned…and she’s awake.
I shake my head, step into my room, and switch on the light. Not much has changed in here since I was a teenager. Forest-green walls with a wallpaper border of mallard ducks. The same pine bed frame that still groans in protest when I lie on it. But everything I own fits in here, considering I left anything that didn’t fit in my Camaro back in California.
I toss my leather jacket on the back of the chair in the corner and strip down to my boxers. The promise I made to Danny plays again in my head as I lie down, staring up at the same ceiling I memorized over a decade ago.
Nothing lights a fire in my chest like the odds being stacked against me. But the stubborn blonde across the hall is a challenge I’m pretty sure might kill me.
8
Penny
